Monday, August 25, 2014

What's in Your Library Bag?

On one of our recent trips to the library, my 3 year old wandered off and found his favorite section. Before I knew it, our library bag (and the stroller) were full. He had books on Audi's, Porche's, monster trucks, the history of the automobile, airplanes, Heavy Duty Construction Equipment, Planes, Toy Story, Knuffle Bunny, Cars 2, and he even found a learn to speak Klingon book. I didn't even know he knew where the nonfiction section was. There was a part of me that wanted to have him choose 4 or 5 and put the other 10 back, but I resisted. Instead I shared his joy and excitement for all the fun new books he found for us to read. You can see his pile contrasted with my pile.

Library Tip: Give your children autonomy to pick whatever books catch their interest. This is a great time for kids to be spontaneous, explore their interests and create their identity as a reader. As a parent, it feels nice to say "YES! great choice."

Check out this months library list. I hope you find a few that both you and your children enjoy reading.

Hippospotamus(recommended for 4-8) by Jeanne Willis is a humorous read about a hippo that has a red spot on his bottomus and none of the animals can figure it out. They each have their own idea of what it might be. I will not spoil it for you, but it is lighthearted and fun.

Ribbit(recommended for 3-7) by Rodrigo Folgueira is a sweet book about friendship with an unusual twist that will keeps kids on their toes. Great for teaching children about reaching out to make friends.

The Robot Book(recommended for 1-4) by Heather Brown is colorful, interactive and has a heart or at least the Robot does. This is a fun board book for littles, but my preschooler also loved it.

Bread and Jam for Frances(recommended for 4-8) by Russel Hoban will make you feel better if you have really picky eaters like I do. I tried so hard to feed them the very best as infants...lentil soup, green smoothies, quinoa and greek yogurt. This book keeps it real (with a ray of hope) and is fun for parent and child together.

Ella Sets the Stage(recommended for 4-8) by Carmela D'armico makes all of us feel better about what we do well, rather than what we don't do. I found it to be a great reminder as an adult and something I would like to reinforce in my children. There are a few Ella books, but I could not remember her name. I described one of her other books to the librarian and she couldn't think of it. Not even 5 minutes later, my 1 year old started haphazardly pulling books off the shelf and there was Ella. I had to include one of her books, it seemed serendipitous.

Andrew Drew and Drew (recommended for 4-8) by Barney Saltzberg is interactive flap by flap. The drawings start as a line and as you open each flap the drawings grow and and the drawings develop. My preschooler really loves to open the flaps for each drawing. It reminds me a little bit of Harold and the Purple Crayon, which I love.

Fortune Cookies (recommended for 3-6) by Albert Bitterman had me hooked right at the title. I love fortune cookies, I even made a trip to a little factory in San Francisco to see the little old ladies making them. So fun! The book is fun, because you pull the little fortunes out of the cookies. The story line unfolds as each fortune comes true, but maybe not the way the little girl expected.

Mr Tiger Goes Wild(recommended for 3-6) by Peter Brown has beautiful artwork, a playful story line and a good message. I saw @thelittlebookcollector list this on Instagram. I really love this book. I was raised in a home where we were reminded of manners often, including "shoulders back," and sometimes it just seemed more comfortable to eat with my elbow on the table. I loved Mr. Tiger and his boredom with being so proper.

If I Built a Car(recommended for 5-8) by Chris Van Dusen let's a child's imagination run. As I listen to my preschooler chatter nonstop, sometimes I wonder what is real and what is play for him. His imagination is exploding in a wonderful way. I think he loved this book for that reason. If you built a car, what would it be like?